Mackinac Marriage Records 1770-1779

July 28, 1773, I, the undersigned Vicar-General of Illinois received the mutual marriage consent of Sieur Hyacinthe Amelin, trader; and of Marie Joseph Maingans, and gave them the nuptial Benediction according to the form prescribed by the Holy Roman Church and in the presence of Sieurs Louis Cardin and Charles Chaboiller, friends of the husband; and of Sieurs Charles Mudox and Amable Roy, and of Therese Campion wife of Sieur Du Bois, friends of the wife, who signed with us these presents duly read.

June 23, 1775, I published one marriage ban and granted dispensation from the two others in favor of Francois Maurice de la Fantaisie, a native of the town of Montreal residing in this parish, son of Francois Maurice de la Fantaisie and of Magdeleine le Due, his father and mother, of the one Part; and in favor of Marie Anne Cardin, a native of the village, daughter of Louis Cardin formerly a Notary at this Post and of the late Constante Chevalier, her father and mother, of the other Part. No impediment to the marriage having been discovered, we, the undersigned missionary Priest and Vicar-General of Monseigneur the bishop of Quebec in these Countries, received their mutual marriage consent * * * and in the presence, on be half of the husband of Sieurs Pascal Pillet and Hypolitte Campeau, his friends; and on behalf of the wife, of Joseph Ainsse, her brother; Hypolitte Chaboiller, her Cousin German; Jean Baptiste Barthe, also her Cousin; of Sieurs Ignace Bourassa and Guillaume La Motte, her friends, some of whom signed with me, as did also the wife; the others, together with the husband, declared they could not sign these presents duly read.

October 6, 1775, after the publication of one marriage ban from the Pulpit during one of our solemn masses, and after dispensation from the two others granted in favor of Sieur Joseph Ainsse, a native of this post, son of Joseph Ainsse and of the late Constante Chevalier, his father and mother, of the one part; and Delle Therese Bondy, a native of Detroit, daughter of Joseph Bondy and of Dme Cecile Campeau, her father and mother, of the other part;1 * * * received their mutual marriage consent and gave them the nuptial Benediction. * * * in the presence, on behalf of the husband: of Louis Cardin, his brother; of Marie Anne Cardin, his sister; of Francois Maurice de la Fantaisie, his Brother-in-law; of Sieur Montforton, notary, his friend; of Sieur Guillaume La Motte, also his friend; and, on behalf of his wife: of Sieur Jean Baptiste Bondy, her brother, and of Benjamin Papin, her friend; some of whom signed with us, as did also the husband and wife; the others declared they could neither write nor sign their names, when thereunto required according to the ordinance.

January 1, 1779, in the afternoon called upon by Sieur Charles Gaultier de Vierville, Lieutenant Captain and interpreter of the King for the savages, son of Claude Germain de Vierville and of Therese Villeneuve, his father and mother deceased; and by Magdeleine Chevalier, daughter of the late Pascal Chevalier and of Magdeleine Larcheveque, her Mother, to confirm the Union that a virtuous love induces them to contract together, to prepare them to crown the flame that a Mutual Affection has kindled in their hearts, before our mother the Holy Church, whereof they are members and in whose bosom they wish to live and die, – we proceeded to the House of Sieur Louis Chevalier, uncle of the future Wife to remove all obstacles interfering with their desires and to secure for them, as far as in us lies, days full of sweetness and rest. There, in the presence of the future consorts, of their relatives and friends, we entered in these presents the following covenants, to-wit: The said future husband, being in the disposition required by the Holy Roman Church and according to the ordinances she imposes on her children, promises to take as his wife and lawful spouse Magdeleine Chevalier who, on her side, consents to accept him as her husband and lawful spouse, having the full and entire consent of her family. In virtue of these presents, the husband – taking the wife with all her future rights, with the share of Inheritance coming to her and which is to be handed over to her on the first Demand therefor, to become their common property and the fruits thereof to be enjoyed by them – wishing to add to the rights of his future wife and thereby prove the great affection he has for her, endows her with the sum of one thousand Ecus, to be taken by privilege from the Property they may acquire together, to provide for the needs to which the Accidents of Life may give rise. The future consorts – not content with the happy Union they are about to contract unless they secure for themselvs harmony, repose, and sweet Comfort until the last moment of their lives – wish and consent unanimously in order to enjoy without trouble the happiness they expect, that their Property be possessed with full and entire enjoyment by the survivor after the demise of either of them, and by these presents they set aside all claims and pretensions that may be set up by their own children, should heaven grant their desires by giving such worthy fruits of their mutual love; unless, however, the survivor should wish to enter into another alliance, in which case the contracting party shall be responsible to the children, the Heirs, for their share in the said Heritage. But if Heaven, deaf to their prayers, refuses them lawful Heirs, the survivor shall dispose of the whole according to his or her will and Good pleasure, without being molested by the relatives of either party. The last wish of the future wife is that the said husband shall at once participate in all her rights. They propose and it is their will to have their consent approved and ratified by a Notary and to have the ceremonies of Marriage supplied them by a priest as soon as they are able to do so.

Footnotes

A prominent family of Detroit, whose ancestor arrived there in 1730. Thérèse Bondy afterwards married Col. Jacques Godefroy of Detroit. ↩

The above is more in the nature of a marriage contract, than of a ceremony. It does not appear by whom it was drawn, but probably by some civil officer. For an allusion to this marriage, see Wisconsin Historical Collections, xi, p. 100. ↩

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